- Bitcoin was hit by five separate attacks by mainstream media outlets on one day this weekend
- Saturday saw various outlets criticize everything from its environmental footprint to Bitcoin ATMs
- Negative mainstream media coverage has soared along with the Bitcoin price
Mainstream media outlets engaged in a seemingly coordinated FUD attack on Bitcoin on Saturday, lamenting everything from its environmental impact to Bitcoin ATMs. Mainstream media in the UK and US engaged in what is either a massively coincidental episode of muck spreading or a coordinated effort to undermine Bitcoin with a one-day blitz that either touched on topics that have been debated for years or made points that they later undermined.
Environmental Concerns Top The Agenda
The Guardian trod a well worn path when it reported on Bitcoin’s energy use in a tone that suggested that no one had ever raised the issue ever before. Buried deep down in the article is the acknowledgement that “there is no way of knowing whether miners are using electricity that is fueled by renewable energy or fossil fuels”, which somewhat undermines the arguments made by those who nevertheless have very strong opinions on the matter.
Business Insider also focussed on Bitcoin’s energy use (not very original, but then what do you expect?). Their article cited Fahad Kamal, the chief investment officer of Société Générale’s UK private bank Kleinwort Hambros, as saying that institutional investors like them are “very alarmed…by the environmental aspects of bitcoin”.
This seemingly doesn’t hold true for the growing number of institutions who have piled billions of dollars into Bitcoin already, but what is FUD if not vague if not entirely factually incorrect?
You Don’t Know What Money Is
Saturday’ mauling continued when the Financial Times offered its opinion that those who stand by the ‘Bitcoin is better than fiat money’ argument simply don’t understand money. They explain that banks create the money through loans which the banks accept, adding that “Bitcoin is turning out to be a good way to reinforce the system we already have.”
This doesn’t of course alter the central argument that fiat money is created from thin air, which is the whole point, and doesn’t explain why more and more national debt isn’t necessarily a great thing.
Crypto Mafia Running “Digital Landscape”
Bloomberg also had its say about Bitcoin on Saturday by claiming that there is a “remarkably small circle of mostly men who command the incredibly lucrative digital landscape.” This ‘Mafia’ group includes Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Pantera Capital founder Dan Morehead, Digital currency Group founder Barry Silbert, and the Winklevoss twins.
Naturally these are very powerful figures in the crypto space, but to say that they ‘command’ it is something of a grandiose statement, and indeed the article at large does little to back up the negative overtones and subversive nature of the headline.
Bitcoin ATMs Attract Criminals!
The Telegraph had an anti-Bitcoin piece on Saturday which focused on Bitcoin ATMs. They describe how Britain’s first Bitcoin ATM installer chose to remove it because he suspected it was being used by criminal gangs to scam pensioners. Amazingly, the other 75% of the article talks about how other installers have had no problems, how KYC implementation has massively reduced illegal use, and that the same Bitcoin ATM owner thinks that “cash is on the way out” – which he would prefer because carrying cash increases risk of robbery!
Don’t they know what good FUD is?!
Coordinated Bitcoin Attack Suggestive of New Strategy
Such an anti-Bitcoin mainstream media blitz is nothing new of course, especially from some outlets, but the fact it all occurred on the same day is suggestive of a more concerted effort to denigrate it. By this point however they are swimming against the tide and making arguments that are clearly not swaying investors, meaning that instead of looking for new weapons they have resorted to simply making bigger ones out of existing materials and working together to create a bigger impact.
Good luck folks – you’re gonna need it.
